Join Sonia Cabell, associate professor at the School of Teacher Education at Florida State University, as she shares findings from her research trials on content-rich literacy curricula and discusses whether activating students’ background knowledge alongside explicit phonics instruction is more effective than the traditional approaches. She also describes what constitutes “compelling evidence” in the Science of Reading and explains why students need to interact with both written and spoken language while learning to read.

Jacquey Barber, director emerita of the Learning Design Group at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science, joins the podcast to discuss her research on the symbiotic relationship between literacy and science, as well as what educators should be looking for in high-quality, literacy-rich science curricula. She also goes into strategies for engaging students, including the Do, Talk, Read, Write. Visualize model, then ends the episode by highlighting the many ways science supports reading.

Dr. Doris Baker speaks from her background researching the academic outcomes of English language learners (ELLs) to discuss ways educators can better engage and support all of their students. Dr. Baker emphasizes how much there is to learn about our native language by learning another language, and the advantages of bilingualism. She dives into a conversation around codeswitching and the importance of cultural awareness and provides practical advice on how to include ELLs in core instruction. She also outlines how educators can include parents in their children’s language learning by teaching them how, when, and what to read to their kids—in their native language!

On this episode, we’re joined by literacy expert Jan Hasbrouck, Ph.D. Jan is an education consultant, author, and researcher who opens the episode talking about her start with literacy, underscoring how she was one of the lucky ones who learned how to teach reading correctly in college. She also discusses what it’s like to combat skepticism—both of the Science of Reading and the power of assessment. She then goes on to talk about the book she co-authored on student-focused coaching and ends the episode by addressing assessment anxiety directly, including a discussion of where it comes from, the importance of progress monitoring, and more!

Susan Lambert joins biliteracy expert Dr. Lillian Durán, who holds a doctorate in educational psychology and researches instructional and assessment practices with preschool dual-language learners. She describes advantages of bilingualism and the skills those students bring to school. She discusses how the Simple View of Reading connects to Spanish, the double standard of celebrating bilingual students versus not celebrating them, and the process of screening and assessment. Lillian urges educators to avoid labeling biliteracy and dual language support as a sub-group of their classroom, advising instead to prioritize the development of students’ home languages with English instruction.

Host Susan Lambert is joined by Lacey Robinson, CEO of UnboundEd, who opens the podcast by telling her personal story of learning to read and describing how literacy empowered her to pursue education reform. She emphasizes the responsibility that educational practitioners and leaders have to dismantle and eliminate all barriers to education, defines equity and equitable instruction, and describes the literacy experiences of Black students. She also outlines what productive struggle should look like in the classroom, encouraging educators to embrace their students’ local, cultural, linguistic, and historical context to enable more rigorous reading opportunities.

Today, Susan Lambert talks to Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan about the challenges and opportunities in teaching reading to multilingual learners. Dr. Cárdenas-Hagan is a bilingual speech language pathologist and a certified academic language therapist. She is also director of Valley Speech Language and Learning Center in Brownsville, Texas. She discusses how teachers can connect students’ home languages to English, urges teachers to educate themselves on their students’ home languages in order to spot orthographic and phonological connections, and highlights the need for educators to collaborate to ensure student success.

Dr. Nancy Nelson, assistant professor of special education at Boston University, discusses myths and misconceptions around RTI, MTSS, and assessment screening in reading and mathematics instruction. She highlights what tools need to be in place for the RTI system to be implemented well, her work on DIBELS^®, and the importance of dyslexia screeners.

Dr. Amy Murdoch, assistant dean of reading science in the School of Education at Mount St. Joseph University, received her doctorate in school psychology with an emphasis in early literacy from the University of Cincinnati. In this episode, she chats with Susan Lambert about creating prominent graduate and doctoral programs in the Science of Reading, and the responsibility of training the next generation of early literacy educators. She discusses how she has seen Science of Reading interest escalate, shares her hopes for the future of reading science in schools, and offers advice for those who are new to the Science of Reading and/or exploring an advanced degree rooted in reading science.

Mickey Smith Jr. is an acclaimed Louisiana educator, author, saxophonist, Grammy Music Educator Award winner, and self-described “solutionist” who feels a strong calling to help educators. He brings his motivational blend of music and message to this special episode in which he and Susan Lambert discuss music, perseverance, and finding purpose as educators and human beings. He shares his proven principles for helping educators create sound connections and culture in today’s classrooms. He shares his methods for providing all-purpose encouragement and offers a tangible approach to finding one’s own personal mission statement—or, as he likes to call it, our legacy song.

Dr. Desirée Pallais-Downing is an assistant professor of instruction in the Bilingual/Bicultural Education Program at the University of Texas at Austin. Having lived in Nicaragua, England, the United States, and Spain, she has experienced bilingual learning across four different countries. In this episode, she differentiates between sequential and simultaneous bilingualism, discusses the importance of assessment in the home and second languages, and dives deep into the linguistic structures of Spanish versus English. She also offers advice for non-Spanish speakers on the best ways to support Spanish speakers.

Dr. Kymyona Burk is policy director for early literacy at the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd). In this role, she supports states pursuing a comprehensive approach to K–3 reading policy. She joins host Susan Lambert to give listeners a look behind the curtain of the legislative process creating education policy, including writing and passing literacy legislation, the politics of advocating for the Science of Reading within legislation, and what the results look like for states that have this legislation in place.

Claude Goldenberg joined the podcast to introduce what he argues is much-needed skepticism to the conversation of reading science. Goldenberg mentions that while the Science of Reading may be the latest buzzword, reading science is here to stay and, like any other science, will only grow stronger alongside informed critique. He later talks about the foundational skills and what the movement can learn from the failings of Reading First; offers advice for implementation; and ends with a hopeful note, highlighting that all educators can come together around a shared mission to see students succeed.

Susan Lambert is joined by Dr. Brittney Bills, educator and recent Science of Reading Star Award Winner to discuss MTSS. Dr. Bills began her journey as a school psychologist for six years before transitioning to the role of curriculum coordinator at Grand Island Public Schools. Dr. Bills explains what MTSS is and how it centers prevention rather than intervention. She talks about the intersection of universal screening data and MTSS and provides advice on evidence-based strategies and techniques to make a positive impact in your classroom. Using examples from her own district, Dr. Bills discusses how to avoid burnout, learning to use data, and the process of ongoing improvement.